[00:00:00] As we hurtle towards the end of 2024, it is safe to say that many of us are feeling like we've been through it. And rightly so. We have been living in a year of more elections globally than ever before, including an influential U. S. election. Natural disasters ranging from earthquakes to floods to fires to landslides to droughts, wars in the Middle East and Europe and Africa, not to mention a solar eclipse. A new king and queen of Denmark, Julian Assange, was freed from prison. We had the Summer Olympics and the Paralympics in Paris.

[00:00:34] There was the first commercial spacewalk, the COP19 Summit, and that's just really the highest of the high level highlights. From a comms perspective, whether you work in change, internal or external comms, government or investor relations or anything in between, it's likely your role has been influenced in some way by these events and others closer to home.

[00:00:57] And it's likely many of these events will continue [00:01:00] to influence us into 2025. So as many of us start to plan our strategies for the year to come, what are some of the trends we should be considering? That's what today's episode is all about.

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[00:01:15] Hello friend, and welcome back to another episode of Less Chatter, More Matter, the communications podcast. I'm your host, Mel Loy, and I'm recording this episode on the lands of the Yuggera and Turrbal people here in Meanjin, also known as Brisbane. So here we are, we made it. We're about to end 2024 and what a year it's been.

[00:01:38] I don't know about you, but I'm really looking forward to a bit of a break soon. But in the meantime, many of us are already in the throes of planning for 2025. None of us have a crystal ball, unfortunately, but in today's episode, I'm going to take a hot guess at some of the trends that might impact our profession in 2025, and hopefully that will help [00:02:00] you prepare for the year ahead.

[00:02:02] Also, if there's anything you think I've missed that's glaringly obvious, please let me know. Right. Let's get into it today. I'm going to share six trends that I think communicators from all businesses in all kinds of comms roles or change roles need to prepare for in 2025. No surprise here, but the first big trend is that AI will continue to play an even bigger role.

[00:02:26] Bigger role in our profession in a variety of ways. The first is that we're going to need to incorporate more AI into our work, because it's simply going to become more of an expectation. And as tools like Microsoft co pilot are rolled out across more organisations and more people are using the AI tools in platforms like Canva and Google, for example, if you are not using it, you're not keeping up.

[00:02:50] And that's going to be a problem, if you're wanting to advance your career next year. Now, this is going to be particularly important as more younger generations are entering [00:03:00] the workforce and older generations are starting to retire. So the ability to use AI, whether it's simply for content generation, idea generation, or improving efficiency, right through to enhancing strategy is an emerging crucial skill we're going to have to make sure we've all got on board.

[00:03:18] But secondly, we're going to need to support the organisations we work for to adopt AI. Now, right now, according to the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, only 50 percent of large corporates are using any generative AI and less than a third are using machine learning or analytical AI. Medium sized businesses, however, they're already well ahead with 90 percent planning to incorporate AI by 2026.

[00:03:43] So just two years away. The biggest barriers tend to be a lack of data management and a lack of AI adoption strategy, as well as a lack of digital literacy. So they found that three in five Australian employers lack one or more of the digital [00:04:00] skills they need to do business. But that will absolutely change because it needs to, to keep up with other businesses, remain competitive, and to meet the changing needs of consumers.

[00:04:12] Now for comms pros, we are well placed to help lead the adoption of AI because we tend to have that inbuilt risk radar that comes along with it. But also many of us are already using AI tools in our work so we can help inform and advise others. But more importantly, adoption of AI is going to result in big changes to roles, responsibilities and ways of working.

[00:04:34] And it's very likely communications professionals will be at the core of that implementation strategy. So in 2025, my recommendation for comms pros is to get amongst AI if you haven't already, because not only will you be expected to know how to use it and incorporate it into your work, you're also going to be expected to know how to communicate about it.

[00:04:57] My second take for trends for [00:05:00] 2025 is that ESG or environmental social governance, sometimes also corporate social governance, will become an even more important part of the business, given the state of the world and the increasing impacts of climate change, as well as the economic environment.

[00:05:16] And speaking of climate change, you might be able to hear there's a bit of a storm going on in the background where I am, and these in particular are becoming more and more frequent where I live. And I know that many of you are experiencing some of these impacts as well. And from a climate change perspective, in Australia, new legislation regarding mandatory climate related reporting is coming into effect next year.

[00:05:37] So this means that new reporting requirements for large and medium sized businesses, including disclosures on climate related risks and opportunities, and on greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain, will need to be made public. People are expecting more of organisations in tackling this issue.

[00:05:57] So either as consumers or as employees, investors, or [00:06:00] in some cases, all three. ESG also covers being an ethical employer and there will be enhanced sex discrimination legislation coming into effect in Australia, including a lower threshold for sex based harassment, stronger emphasis on employers and leaders duty to eliminate sexual harassment, discrimination, hostile work environments, and victimisation.

[00:06:23] There's also going to be the ongoing cost of living and availability of housing issues, which many organisations are expected to help address or at least weigh into the debate on. And whether that's an expectation from their employees or the consumers, it doesn't matter. It's there. And of course, with all the violence and discontent happening around the world and a new administration in the USA, along with an Australian federal election looming - organisations need to be prepared to respond both as the entities that contribute to or are impacted by these issues and just as good corporate [00:07:00] citizens. So what does this trend mean for comms pros? Well firstly, be prepared to start working with others in the business on climate related reporting and communicating about it if you haven't already.

[00:07:12] And depending on how that report looks for your organisation, you may have to do some work in reputational management. Secondly, again, have your risk radar on for any workplace issues, whether it's hiring practices, discrimination claims, wage issues, et cetera. These are all going to keep shaping and evolving over time.

[00:07:32] Thirdly, you're going to have to work with your C suite to develop a clear set of position statements on those issues that your people and your stakeholders are concerned about, whether it's climate change, cost of living, housing, whatever it might be. You are best placed to lead this work and be the strategic advisor.

[00:07:50] And number four, look for opportunities to provide thought leadership in these spaces. It doesn't all have to be reactionary and risk focused, right? You can lead the way [00:08:00] in the conversation and enhance your organisation's and your leaders reputations in that process. Okay, the third trend that I think will continue to shape our work is one that we touched on in an interview a few weeks ago with David Imber.

[00:08:14] And that is that we will need to deal with increasing polarisation at work. This polarisation is occurring along political, economic, and even gender lines. And it's not ideal, obviously, when it comes to creating safe workplaces that foster engagement and really build that sense of belonging. So for example, the polarisation research lab from Dartmouth College found in a survey this year that a quarter of Americans say they've avoided a work colleague due to differing political views.

[00:08:47] Another survey of 500 working age Americans found that almost one third of workers experience conflict at work due to their political beliefs. And one third of Gen Z employees say they have lied about [00:09:00] their political beliefs to avoid workplace conflict compared with 17 percent of all respondents. And if you think that's just in America, think again, my friend, the Edelman Trust Barometer in 2023 found that almost half of Australians, so about 45%, said the nation was more divided in 2023 than in the past, that the rich and powerful were the major dividing force, followed by hostile foreign governments, journalists, and government leaders.

[00:09:28] A more recent report out in August this year, which is the Edelman Trust Barometer Special Report Trust at Work report, surveyed almost 8, 000 respondents across eight countries. Now, while my employer continues to be more trusted than other institutions, so for example, your employer is probably more trusted than businesses, NGOs, government, media, economic optimism is impacting the trust employees have in those institutions.

[00:09:56] So, for example, People who believe that in [00:10:00] five years time their families will be much worse off have only a 27 percent trust rate in institutions. But those who are optimistic about the economy have a 73 percent trust rate. So it's a huge gap in trust depending on your level of economic optimism. Now, the report also found, interestingly, that that economic optimism gap is widening between executives and associates, so people from the next layer down, essentially.

[00:10:26] So when they were asked to rate how much they agreed with this statement, my family and I will be better off in five years. Executives have increased in 12 months to 78 percent agreement with that statement, but associates dropped 10 points to 39%. That's an optimism gap of 39 points. Job level also impacts trust in employers, businesses, NGOs, government, and media.

[00:10:54] So while executives trust their CEO to tell the truth, associates actually prefer their [00:11:00] coworkers. And in terms of my CEO, associates are 2. 5 times less likely to trust their CEO than executives, but 11 points higher when trusting their co workers. So essentially, there's a building culture of the haves and the have nots or the elites and the others growing in workplaces, along with political divides, which are occurring more and more along gender and generational lines.

[00:11:29] So what does this mean for comms professionals? Well, firstly, it actually presents an opportunity for us to show our value by providing strategic advice and coaching to the C suite to help them rebuild that trust gap and the economic optimism with their people. Secondly, it also means we're going to have to work harder to support those senior leaders in connecting with their team members in genuine and authentic ways.

[00:11:54] The risk of not doing that is you'll end up with a whole bunch of employees who just don't want to be there. [00:12:00] And that obviously has huge business risks. And thirdly, we may also need to work with senior leaders and people and culture teams to build a culture where it's considered safe and acceptable to have differing opinions on matters.

[00:12:13] Those matters don't have to relate to work. We cannot escape politics. It influences our lives in many ways every single day. So just sticking our heads in the sand won't cut it. We're going to need to find ways to acknowledge and celebrate difference beyond the traditional diversity and inclusion lens.

[00:12:32] Okay, if you thought this year was crazy when it came to change and transformation, you are about to get a rude shock. It's not. It's only going to get crazier. That's my fourth hot tip change, especially big transformational change is only going to keep getting bigger, faster, and more frequent in organisations of all shapes and sizes.

[00:12:52] And it's likely to be driven by new tech, which in turn is driving a need for new skills, products and services. [00:13:00] Now, in May of this year, Sensei Labs released a report after they had surveyed more than 150 business transformation leaders in large enterprises throughout the world. And they found that forecasted spending on digital transformation alone will reach nearly 3. 9 trillion in 2027. That's not that long away. And now nearly one third of those respondents were managing a whopping 10 or more initiatives concurrently, with many of those initiatives just in the early stages. So that's just going to ramp up next year. And quite frankly, the change isn't going well. In that Edelman Trust at Work special report from August this year, they found that of the respondents who had recently gone through a transformation, there was a big difference in perception of how successful it was.

[00:13:47] While 60 percent of executives agreed that their experience of the change was very good, only 22 percent of associates agreed. And again, that's a big divide between leaders and everyone else. [00:14:00] So what does this mean for you as a comms or change professional? Well, firstly, giddy up because you are in for a ride.

[00:14:07] We are going to be working on more change projects than ever before, and we're going to work harder to support the average worker to navigate that change. And that's important because we want to protect the reputation from the inside out and create a workplace where people are generally happy and engaged and work as part of a culture that accepts change as the new normal.

[00:14:27] For Number two. This means two more things for us. Number one, that we need to upskill. So make sure you're up to date on the best practices in change management and change communication. Remember some of these models like ADKAR are quite old now and may not be the best for your organisation given the rate of change.

[00:14:45] But secondly, we're also going to have to work with our leaders to ensure change work is prioritised and resourced effectively. And some of our regular BAU work may need to be just put aside, delegated elsewhere, or even automated. [00:15:00] Okay, so we have seen some absolute doozies when it comes to cyber security incidents in the last couple of years, and I don't think this is going to change anytime soon.

[00:15:10] So my fifth trend I think we need to prepare for is cyber security crisis communications. Now we know the rate of attacks is only increasing. According to the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner, the number of data breaches reported to the regulator in the first half of 2024 was at its highest in three and a half years.

[00:15:31] The office was notified of 527 data breaches from January to June alone. And malicious and criminal cyber attacks were the main sources of those breaches. So about 67 percent of all breaches were due to that activity. About 57 percent of those are cyber security incidents. And these incidents are costly for business.

[00:15:52] So a report from IBM this year found that the average cost globally of a data breach in 2024 is [00:16:00] 4. 8 million US dollars. And that's a 10 percent increase over the last year and the highest total ever. Also 40 percent of data breaches involved data stored across multiple environments. So breach data that is stored in public clouds.

[00:16:16] And that had the highest average breach cost of US 5. 17 million. That's a huge cost to any business. According to Statista, during the third quarter of 2024, data breaches exposed more than 422 million records worldwide. We also know that many organisations are not feeling prepared for these risks, despite how prevalent they are. These are not new risks, everybody.

[00:16:45] But statistics from Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry found that data management is still a top concern voiced by both large and small businesses. In fact, 60 percent or thereabouts of business leaders and governance professionals rate their data [00:17:00] management and security just as average. And small businesses in particular need assistance to implement good data governance practices.

[00:17:08] Now, on top of all of this, in Australia, new comprehensive cybersecurity legislation comes into effect next year, and it includes mandatory reporting for ransomware payments. And that applies to any organisation who is a responsible entity for a critical infrastructure asset. And any other private sector organisation who is carrying on business in Australia with an annual turnover, that benchmark is likely to be around 3 million dollars.

[00:17:36] Ransomware reports are also to be made within 72 hours of payment, and a failure to comply will result in a penalty of about 93, 000 Australian dollars. Also, there will be a new voluntary reporting scheme for other cyber incidents. So what does this all mean for you? Well, number one, you're probably going to need to get involved in helping to change culture in your workplace.

[00:17:58] Because while cyber [00:18:00] security training has been around for quite a while now, we still have large cohorts of people who are not digitally literate. And we know scammers in particular are just getting more and more sophisticated. So the risks are going up. The provision of training from HR or IT just won't cut it.

[00:18:17] You will need to work with senior leaders and influencers in your business to help create a culture that actually limits the risk. Secondly, you're going to need to make sure that your crisis comms plans are updated and ready to pull out at any moment. And more importantly, that the key players in those plans are aware of their role to play.

[00:18:37] They're aware of the actions they need to take, and they're also ready to drop everything when required. The final trend, which all of these trends are all up to, is that as comms pros, we are going to need a laser like focus on rebuilding and maintaining trust. All of these trends, ESG, polarisation, AI, change, cybersecurity, [00:19:00] they all center around trust in leadership and trust in brands.

[00:19:04] If we can't get that right, we are putting ourselves behind from the start and we're going to amp up the risks of reputation damage internally and externally. Building trust won't happen overnight, of course, but there are some things we can do to support organisations. The first is support building leadership communication capability.

[00:19:24] So helping leaders become more genuine, authentic communicators. Listen and connect with their audiences, especially in a culture like Australia where many people really dislike hierarchy. This connectedness is going to be crucial. Number two, use the power of storytelling to your advantage. Telling great stories isn't something I can do well and stories are so powerful for changing hearts and minds.

[00:19:50] So if you haven't already. Start upskilling in it and use it more in your work. Number three, keep your finger on the pulse. Report regularly to C [00:20:00] suite executives on the trends you're seeing among your audiences and in your business and demonstrate how they can respond to those in ways that are really meaningful.

[00:20:09] And if you haven't yet, check out the episode I did a couple of weeks ago on measuring and reporting on your comms for some ideas. And number four, we're going to have to use those three T's of trust as guide rails. The three T's are transparent, timely, and thoughtful. If you've read my book or done one of my workshops, you'll know about these principles, but if not, they're pretty straightforward.

[00:20:29] It's just that we often forget about them. So being transparent within boundaries, timely in responding to issues or in being proactive and thoughtful in how you tailor communication for your different audiences. One last thought before we do the wrap up of today's episode. I think one thing all communicators and change pros are going to need to do in 2025 is to look after ourselves.

[00:20:55] I know from experience, I'm feeling it right now, it is far too easy to work [00:21:00] 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in this profession because things are constantly evolving. There's no quiet time anymore. There are constantly fires that need to be put out. Stakeholders are demanding it all hours of the day. But also, oftentimes we deal with subject matter that just isn't that nice and that can have a real impact on our mental and physical health as well.

[00:21:21] So if there's one trend I'd really love you to make happen in 2025, it's looking after yourself and your colleagues. Okay, it is time for your episode recap. So today we covered six trends that I think we will need to prepare for as communication and change professionals in 2025. The first was the increasing role of AI, and not only do we need to learn and implement AI in our own practices, but we're also going to be at the forefront of the work of embedding organisations AI adoption strategies, and all the impacts that that will have throughout the organisation.

[00:21:56] Number two. ESG will continue to [00:22:00] grow in focus, particularly on those issues of climate change, politics, cost of living, housing and global conflict. There are also new mandatory reporting laws coming into place for Australian businesses on climate change. So be prepared for that. Number three, a polarisation, unfortunately, is only going to increase and along very different lines.

[00:22:20] So we will need to work with our organisations to help manage those differing points of view, while still building workplaces where people feel they can be their genuine selves. Number four, change. Particularly big, juicy, transformative change will just continue to get faster, more frequent, and bigger than ever before.

[00:22:41] As comms and change pros, that means big things for our workloads, unfortunately, but also the need to constantly upskill. Some of those old changing comms models like ADCA probably aren't going to cut it in this new world. Number five, cyber security incidents will keep happening at an increasing rate.[00:23:00]

[00:23:00] So we need to be prepared to help build a culture that's alert to those risks. Transcripts as well as respond quickly when those incidents do occur. And number six, ultimately we will need to work harder than ever before on rebuilding and maintaining trust in leaders and brands because all these trends impact trust internally and externally.

[00:23:21] Now, I know we covered a lot today and a lot of it might seem a little scary, to be honest, but I reckon there's also a lot we can look forward to. AI is going to be really fun to play with as it does more and more things. We're going to be able to better position ourselves as strategic advisors because of these trends, not just as copywriting monkeys.

[00:23:40] And we're going to be playing crucial roles in some really meaningful work. And that's exactly where we want to be. Okay. That's all for today's episode. Hey, over the next few weeks, as we go into the break, we are going to be doing shorter episodes and they're all based around what you want to hear about.

[00:23:57] They're called topic in 10. So I will be covering a [00:24:00] topic in 10 minutes or less. And those topics are all from you. We've already got some really interesting topics coming through some things around change, around newsletters of all things, lots of, Other things coming through. So if you've got a topic you'd like me to cover or a challenge you need some help with, please get in touch.

[00:24:17] There's a link in the show notes to where you can submit your ideas or just DM me on the socials. That's all good. In the meantime, please keep doing amazing things because you are amazing. And I will see you next time on Less Chatter, More Matter.